One Moment Among Many
by Juliet'sReplacement
Summary: Late one night, Cloud is finding it difficult to sleep. Usually, he doesn't sleep, but this is different. Particularly when Tifa wakes up.


**One Moment Among Many**

Tifa slept soundly in her own bed, under the sheets. She was exhausted, for reasons that would come to her. It had been a long night in the bar, and for now, all Tifa wanted to do was rest. Her eyes flickered under their eyelids, and whatever dream she was having, she wouldn't remember it in the morning.

In the next room over, Cloud sat up for the fourth time, sighing quietly. Glancing up at the window, at the faint lights of the other places around them shone in, giving him just enough light to see. But that was irrelevant, Cloud thought irritably. Why couldn't he sleep? It was already 2 AM, but it was like this every night, unfortunately. What was wrong with him?

Shaking his head, Cloud got up, stretching. If he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well go downstairs or something.

Or something.

_Or something._

Was Tifa still awake? Cloud considered for a moment, then figured that Tifa was usually asleep by before midnight, at the latest. Smiling slightly to himself, the blonde warrior tentatively tapped on Tifa's door, a bit down the hall. No answer. Poking his head in, he discovered that Tifa was curled up in a ball under her blankets, breathing softly. She faced away from him, but he could see that she was honestly, truly asleep.

_The sleep of the exhausted,_ Cloud thought dryly as he watched her. After a moment, he sat down in the chair in the corner, just watching her sleep. With any luck at all, watching Tifa rest would make him tired. It usually did, anyway. Sometimes, Cloud came in just to gaze at her, and... well, more often than not, it made him tired. And then, only then, could he get to sleep. Now though... it just made him more... awake.

Cloud internally sighed, tucking his chin against his chest as he crossed his arms, his cerulean eyes fixed on Tifa. That, and he needed to make sure she stayed out of trouble. Even when she was asleep, she needed someone to keep an eye on her.

Tifa snuffled, then her wine-colored eyes slowly opened.

To a mess of blonde hair across the room.

Attatched to a tall, dark, lean figure sitting in a chair.

A figure that looked almost too familiar to Tifa, simply because she saw it almost every day.

Smiling slightly to herself, Tifa sat up soundlessly, and glanced at the clock. It said 6:15 AM. What was Cloud doing this early, asleep in the chair in her room? She got up, brushing her near-black hair out of her eyes. Cloud really was unpredictable sometimes, she thought with another smile. Walking over, Tifa gently brushed the blonde locks out of his face, looking at him. When Cloud was asleep... Tifa thought he looked more...

_Relaxed?_ she guessed. _Less... stressed out? I'm not sure. He's always so tense and... battle ready during the day... Whenever he's awake, that is._

Tifa just wasn't sure exactly what the difference was. But she did know that Cloud looked more... childlike when he slept. And it made her heart jump when those cerulean eyes opened.

"Morning, Cloud," she murmured, smiling gently at him. Tifa saw some hidden touch of something in his eyes, something she couldn't describe. But it flickered, and was gone. "Couldn't you sleep last night?"

Mutely, he shook his head, the blonde hair swaying slightly in front of his face. Tifa smiled gently, standing up straight. "Well, you managed at some point. Come on, let's go get some breakfast so I can make some for the kids. Oh, and Barret said he would stop by at some point today."

Cloud nodded, standing. Tifa caught her breath, trying not to stare. Cloud was in his usual pajamas, just a pair of comfy fleece pants and shirtless. Her stomach was doing these little flips as she was unable to look away from his muscular torso, and the ten-pack that made up the area below his ribcage. Tifa blinked hard, willing herself to look away. It was a moment before she realized that she was a little shaky.

"You okay?"

Cloud's voice cut in, but Tifa made sure not to make the mistake of looking at him this time.

"Yeah," she said softly. "Just a head rush." Cloud made a humming noise, just a 'hm', then he slipped out of her room. Tifa laid her forehead against the wall with a long exhale, trying to put her scrambled brain back into order. She had a feeling that Cloud often did this, for some reason, because he didn't seem to feel guilty or surprised that he had woken up in a chair in her room. So he'd done it before. Tifa sighed again, running her fingers through her hair as she backed out of her room and turned around.

Promptly running into a wall.

Well, not a wall, exactly, but the results would have been the same. She stumbled back, cringing already as she prepared herself for the rough landing on the wooden floor.

Only she didn't fall. A warm, wide, calloused hand on the small of her back held her still, off-balance but not falling. Tifa looked up quickly-

Straight into a pair of cerulean eyes that were so deep, one could almost get lost in them.

"Uh..." Tifa was unable to say anything, her eyes wide. But Cloud just watched her. Then, his other hand came around to her waist, picking her up about an inch and setting her on her feet again. And all this time, his eyes didn't leave hers.

"...Thanks," Tifa finally managed, her brain starting to shut down. An insignificant part noticed that Cloud was still shirtless. Cloud simply nodded at her, but his hands still rested on her waist, dry, warm, and motionless, not going any lower. Tifa just looked at Cloud, and suddenly he pulled her to him, his muscular arms encircling her. Her face was pressed into his warm shoulder, and she blinked once before hesitantly nuzzling into him. Tifa decided that she was going to take advantage of this- while it lasted.

Cloud's arms tightened around her back, and a small smile curved her lips. Cloud's chin was over her shoulder with his height, and his face turned slightly into her hair. Tifa slid her arms up around his neck, locking her fingers together, her nails faintly digging in. Cloud pulled back for an instant, and Tifa was about to protest when he abruptly brought their faces together. He pressed his lips against hers for a mere four seconds, but it was enough to set Tifa's heart racing. Briefly, she wondered what was going through his head. After a moment, she found out.

"Now," he breathed in her ear when he pulled away again, "Breakfast?"


End file.
